First time staying at WL--tell me why I'll love it!

[Blondie]

The Wilderness Lodge was not our first choice of places to stay.

We had originally reserved the Swan, but we had to change our dates, and the Swan is booked for a big convention and couldn't give us all the dates we needed. Since we aren't ones to change resorts in the middle of our stay, I had to shop around, and ended up with the Wilderness Lodge!

We'll really miss the Swan/Dolphin, as we love the Epcot Resorts!

Tell me why I'll love the Wilderness Lodge, and what I can expect it terms of transportation to and from the parks!

I reserved a standard view room w/bunkbeds.

 

[dylansdad]

Blondie, let me know what it was like when you get back. Im gonna book there for Oct and was thinkin about a standard room with bunks also. Have a great trip!!! SAM

 

[mat2672]

I stayed there twice last year and absolutely loved it. The first thing youll notice right away is the breathtaking lobby. Its incredible. You can stand there forever just gazing around. It has to be one of the most beautiful hotels around. You'll love everything about the grounds and the pool is awesome. Its just a great atmosphere to be in. Its great to come back from a busy and hot day at the parks and just immediately calm down when you get into the lobby. Theres also very nice native american music playing in the backround. If you like to do the side activities like the speed boats, bikes, etc, the wilderness lodge has all of that and the scenery by the lake is beautiful. Another cool thing is that you can take a quick boat ride over to Fort Wilderness where they have a petting zoo and pony rides if you have kids and a great buffet. Theres also hay rides. The transportaion is the tricky part. I never had a problem with it and I love taking the boat to magic kingdom (very relaxing), but im amazed at the amount of people that seem to have a problem with the transportation there. I think alot of the complaints are from people that get to the spot where you wait and a minute later they are saying "god, we've been here 15 minutes and the boat still isnt here". I could go on all day about the wilderness lodge. Overall, I think youll be amazed that you can get such a beautiful hotel at pretty good prices. Keep checking this board for the special deals that always come out and youll likely get it at about $140/night or something around there. This is all assuming that you would like being in a woodsy, mountain lodge type of atmosphere. It also surprises me how many people come back and say they were dissappointed because they didnt go to disney to be in a ski-resort type atmosphere. You think the name wilderness lodge might have been a clue. If you like that type of theming I have no doubt youll be amazed with your stay. I think the rooms are a little bit smaller than the typical deluxe resort and your transportation to the parks other than Magic Kingdom might take a little longer, but again, you have to know going in that if you want a quick trip to epcot, stay at an epcot resort. Its that simple. Do a lot of research and check out the pics on the different web sites and youll get a pretty good idea about what you can expect. Good luck.

 

[Blondie]

Thanks for the info....I'm doing lots of research, here and at other Disney fan sites.

The transportation seems to get a 50/50 review. We're going during the off season, so I highly doubt we'll have a problem. I do appreciate the woodsy atmosphere, and read that Travel and Leisure Magazine voted the Wilderness Lodge as the number one family hotel in the continental U.S.! That must say something! (The Grand Floridian was #2, and the Beach Club was #3)

Again, I will miss the Epcot area...but change is good!

 

[mep319]

We stayed in August and my biggest complaint (and no offense to anyone) was the shared transportation w/ the campsite. Not only is it shared but they often drop them 1st! If I am paying $$$ for a deluxe I think I should be dropped 1st!! Just my opinion. Anyway I loved the resort and would suggest it without hesitation. It is beautiful. The boat ride to MK is the best part, especially w/ the younger kids. Have fun!

 

[daannzzz]

Why you will love it.

It is so very impressive everytime you drive under the arch and round the corner and see it.

It is so impressive everytime you walk to the front door and step in and take in the view of the lobby.

The smokey smell that greets you when you enter the lobby.

The floor of the lobby.

The headdress in the case.

The sound of people having fun at Whispering canyon.

The CM's.

Walking down the ramp to Roaring Forks.

Stepping out into the upper cortyard and seeing the babbling creek wandering among the flowers and trees.

Walking down the steps next to the waterfall and finally seeing it flowing into the pool.

Trying to swim agains the current where the pool meets the creek.

Tell me when to stop.....

 

[Blondie]

Shared bus transportation isn't all that uncommon.

The Swan and Dolphin also shares their busses with the Boardwalk, and the Yacht and Beach Clubs.

I think the only ones that don't share are Coronado Springs, and CBR, and maybe the All Stars...but since I've never stayed there, I don't know what their line up is.

I was under the impression tha the WL also shared with the Poly and GF.

 

[mat2672]

If im not mistaking, I thought I heard the cm driving the boat tell some people who thought the same thing that the transportation used to be shared with the poly and the contemporary, but they dont do that anymore. In fact, I do remember that every time we would go to the boats, the cm would always go out of their way to make sure everyone knew that they werent going to those resorts anymore. I could be wrong, but in the 2 times I went, we definitely didnt share with the other resorts. Also, someone mentioned that they dont like paying more money than fort wilderness and then being dropped off last. I think the cabins are also deluxe and actually more expensive in most cases. in any event, your probably not going to let a small detail like that stop you from staying at a particular resort.

 

[KarenB]

As you can tell by my signature, I am a bit partial towards WL!

Use all your senses.....feel the "whoosh" of the lobby doors opening, smell the freshness of the northwest, hear the beautiful music playing in the lobby and the crickets chirping, see the massive lobby (no word can describe the beauty of it), feel the heat from the fireplace.......


We have stayed at WL a few times, the last being this past June. We really love it there. We have some very fond memories of Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone and WL brings some of those memories back. I especially like it because it feels like you are getting away from it all. There is a wonderful little hide away on the second floor, right above the lobby doors!

If you have any questions, PM me!

Have a great time!!!!! Oh......change IS good!

Karen

 

[Gary M]

Blondie:

Try the nooks on the 4th and 5th floors above the main entrance to the lobby. They have fireplaces, soft couches and chairs. Great places to relax and enjoy the view of the lobby.

Don't forget the refillable mugs at the Roaring Fork.

The electric water parade is on Bay Lake at 9:30 each night(weather permitting).

 

[laurenk]

Blondie- Change is good! We have never stayed there, but DH is dying to try it. You will have to report back to us after your trip.

As far as splitting your stay, you relly should try it. It is like 2 vacations in one. We just split between CR and BWI because like you, we LOVE the Epcot resort area. It is really easy to do too. If I remember corretly, you drive down, and we do too now. Just plan your moving day as either a resort day, Epcot or MGM day. We packed up the car drove over, checked in, and spent the day at the resort, and headed over to Epcot for the evening.

 

[Blondie]

Hey Lauren!

I am more than willing to try two resorts, but I can't convince the DH!

We'll be flying again this time....we've gotten spoiled! After flying down to Orlando in February, we can't imagine ever driving there again.....although I know sooner or later we'll have to for financial reasons!

 

[DarthGoofy]

WOW!

This will be our first trip to the WL as well.

Thanks to everyone who has posted. You have got me excited about my trip as well.

 

[laurenk]

Tell your DH to live on the wild side. I bet he won't regret it. We have split our stay without our car too, and it was just as easy, the only difference is you don't have control of your luggage.

Our days of flying our over for now.... the twins won't get on a plane

 

[lissawynn]

My husband and I spent our honeymoon at the WL (9/22-9/29). He had never been to Disney before, although I had gone several times with my family. He loved it! From what I've seen, it is the best themed resort at Disney. There were some issues with transportation, though. I don't think those staying at a deluxe resort should have to share transportation with the campground. This added on lots of time to our trips to Epcot, MGM, and AK. The only short ride we had was to the MK. Also, you must eat at Whispering Canyon Cafe. We had amazing food and entertainment throughout our entire meal. I do not recommend Artist Pointe. We were so disappointed with the service and our meal. For the amount of $$$$, it was not worth it.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

There are no words to describe the beauty of the lobby of WL.
You just have to see it yourself !

....And the lobby with Christmas decorations is sensational !

Do not attempt to take distance pictures of the lobby with a disposable camera ! Not even one of my pictures came out well.
From the photos ( which I just picked up yesterday ) I cannot even tell what's in the picture.

 

[Blondie]

Anyone else?

 

[helenk]

You will love this resort!!!! We just got back from our 6 day stay and it was wonderful. The lobby is beautiful, the CMs were very helpful and had a great attitude. Housekeeping was great too, our room was always clean, we had more than enough towels and we have enough shampoo and soap for numerous people.
We had breakfast and snacks at Roaring Forks, very good, we also ate at Whispering Canyon, the food was good and the entertainment was fantastic!
We found the transportation to be fine, going to MK you could take the boat, or the bus to the Ticket and transportation center and take the monorail, all other parks you took a bus. We did share stops with the GF for one park and Ft Wilderness for others but I do not recall which one shared which...but we were picked up first and then Ft wilderness or the GF. The drop off from the parks varied with the driver, sometimes FT Wilderness was first and other times we were. But it only added I would say 10 minutes to the ride. The boat from MK took us first and then went to FT Wilderness, but we never stopped a Ft wilderness on the way over to the MK...the transportion system confuses me. Any way bottom line, we waited most times around 10 minutes tops for a bus or boat.
You will be very happy staying at the WL.

 

[eddiewells]

Wow, this is the first post I've made on the boards since February! Anyways, its about time for my family to plan our vacation to WL, so I'm looking for any and all suggestions. We are planning to get a price quote from the official Disney site, then take it to the travel agency and tell them thats what we want. What floor (or room numbers) should we ask for? We are going with 4 people (mom, dad, me (14 y/o son), and aunt). We are getting the most standard (aka cheapest) rooms available, so I don't know if that will restrict what floor we stay on or not. The dates of our trip will either be the 3rd week of June or last week of June. Thanks for any information!!!

 

[magicplace4me]

Besides what has been mentioned:

There is still a boat to the Contemorary (think mono-rail and Chef Mickey's) as far as I know.

Fort Wilderness is now offering carriage rides and I believe they will drop you off back at WL.

Also WL will be featured on the travel channel this week, 12/23 @ 9AM and 12/23 @ 2PM. It might be worth a look if you get it!